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HoviT I Carried 

message: 

to GARCIA 



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BY 

Colonel Andrew Summers Rowan 

THE MAN WHOM 

ELBERT HUBBARD 

IMMORTALIZED 
BY HIS FAMOUS 

Message to Garcia 



WALTER D. HARNEY, PUBLISHER 
HEWBS BLDG; 
, SAN FRANCISCO, CAL. 



Price Twenty-Five Cent^ 





^, . V "FRA ELBERTUS*' \ 



The Master Mind of Inspiration 



1 






I Millions of people have been inspired a^d enriched v * 

f by the Writings of Elbert Hubba^. The MES- ^^ ] 

SAG§ Tp GARCIA was one of his early writ- I 

ings. It would be hard to estimate just hoW much ' | 

good that wonderful^ booklet ha# done. Suffice to . ] 
say that the need was felt for such commonsense 
I philosophy and the MESSAGE TO GARCIA 
I , filled that need, acquiring momentum as it went 
i on its way, until nearly one hundred million 

I copies have been ^ circulated, having been printed ;| 

J in every languagSJn use today. ^^ i 

I Elbert Hubbard was one of the greatest intellect- | 

I ual giants of mb(i€n\, times, — indeed of any time. ♦ 

I His influence penetrated hum^ity leaving a throb ' 

J of inspiration and a prescription for happiness to f 

? all whom his phildsopKy reacljed. He knew the j 

:. shortcomings, the faults and the failings of hu- J 

i man nature. He met them with sensible advice I 

? and encouragement. His keen insight and great * 

\ heartedness, combined with the unusual ability to I 

> express himselt simply and sincerely were his re- I 

t sources at hand, — no other pen inspired and in- | 

I structed so well. i 



Hubbard was unquestionably America's most bril- ? 

liant and able writer. His "LITTLE JOURNEYS ^ 

TO THE HOMES OF THE GREAT" are the ♦ 

Masterpieces that the >vorld recognizes and ac- | 

knowledges as the work of a genius. In them i 

Hubbard put his best self. He gives a closeup J 

view of the greatest men and women of all times, t 
— not in the dry uninteresting biographical style, 

but in his own inimitable style, packed with wis- [ 

dom, wit and inspiration, with touches of satire j 

here and there but always full of kindness and • 

good cheer. They seemed to have been written j 

for people who think,— ^who want to think. * 



How I Carried 

The Message To Garcia 



by 



Colonel Andrew Summers Rowan 

The Man Whom Elbert Hubbard Immortalized 
by His Famous 



Message To Garcia 



Walter D. Harney, Publisher 

Hewes Building 

San Francisco, California 



WAR DEPARTMENT 

Washington, D. C. 

June 22, 1922. 
To the Honorable, 

Secretary of War. 
Sir: 

I regard the achievement of Major Rowan as 
one of the most hazardous and heroic deeds in miH- 
tary warfare and I earnestly recommend that he be 
granted the most distinguished decoration author- 
ized by Congress. 

I have the honor to remain with great respect, 

Very truly yours, 




Dedicated to My Wife 
JOSEPHINE MORRIS ROWAN 



Copyrighted 

in 

United States, Canada, 

England and Australia 

by 

Andrew S. Rowan 



HOW I CARRIED THE MESSAGE TO GARCIA 



^^How I Carried the Message to Garcia" 

By 
COL. ANDREW S. ROWAN 

"Let us both small and great push forward in 
this work, in this pursuit, if to our country, if to 
ourselves we would live dear." 

— Horace. 




HERE," asked President McKinley of 
Colonel Arthur Wagner, head of the 
Bureau of Military Intelligence, "where 
can I find a man who will carry a mes- 
sage to Garcia?" 
^ The reply was prompt. 
^ "There is a young officer here in 
Washington; a lieutenant named Rowan, who will 
carry it for you!" 

^ "Send him!" was the President's order. 
^ The United States faced a war with Spain. The 
President was anxious for information. He realized 
that success meant that the soldiers of the republic 
must co-operate with the insurgent forces of Cuba. He 
understood that it was essential to know how many 
Spanish troops there were on the island, their quality 
and condition, their morale, the character of their offi- 
cers, especially those of the high command; the state 
of the roads in all seasons; the sanitary situation in 
both the Spanish and insurgent armies and the coun- 
try in general; how well both sides were armed and 
what the Cuban forces would need in order to harass 
the enemy while American battalions were being mo- 
bilized; the topography of the country and many other 
important facts. 



HOW I CARRIED THE MESSAGE TO GARCIA 

^ Small wonder that the command, "Send him!" was 
equally as prompt as the answer to his question respect- 
ing the individual who would carry the message to 
Garcia. 

^ It was perhaps an hour later, at noon, when Col- 
onel Wagner came to me to ask me to meet him at the 
Army and Navy Club for lunch at one o'clock. As we 
were eating, the colonel — who had, by the way, a rep- 
utation for being an inveterate joker — asked me: 
^ "When does the next boat leave for Jamaica?" 
^ Thinking he was making an effort to perpetrate one 
of his pleasantries, and determined to thwart him, if 
possible, I excused myself for a minute or so an4 when 
I had returned informed him that the "Adirondack," of 
the Atlas Line, a British boat, would sail from New 
York the next day at noon. 

^ "Can you take that boat?" snapped the colonel. 
^ Notwithstanding that I still believed the colonel was 
joking I replied in the affirmative. 

^ "Then," said my superior, "get ready to take it!" 
^ "Young man," he continued, "you have been selected 
by the President to communicate with — or rather, to 
carry a message to — General Garcia, who will be found 
somewhere in the eastern part of Cuba. Your problem 
will be to secure from him information of a military 
character, bring it down to date and arrange it on a 
working basis. Your message to him will be in the na- 
ture of a series of inquiries from the President. Writ- 
ten communication, further than is necessary to identify 
you, will be avoided. History has furnished us with the 
record of too many tragedies to warrant taking risks. 
Nathan Hale of the Continental Army, and Lieutenant 
Richey in the War with Mexico were both caught with 
dispatches; both were put to death and in the case of 
the latter the plans for Scott's invasion of Vera Cruz 
were divulged to the enemy. There must be no failure 
on your part; there must be no errors made in this 
case." 



HOW I CARRIED THE MESSAGE TO GARCIA 

^ By this time I was fully alive to the fact that Col- 
onel Wagner was not joking. 

^ "Means will be found," he continued, "to identify 
you in Jamaica, where there is a Cuban junta. The 
rest depends on you. You require no further instructions 
than those I will now give you>" which he did, they 
being essentially as outlined in the opening paragraphs. 
"You will need the afternoon for preparation. Quarter- 
master-General Humphreys will see that you are put 
ashore at Kingston. After that, providing the United 
States declares war on Spain, further instructions will 
be based on cables received from you. Otherwise every- 
thing will be silence. You must plan and act for your- 
self. The task is yours and yours only. You must get 
a message to Garcia. Your train leaves at midnight. 
Good-by and good luck!" 
^ We shook hands. 

^ As Colonel Wagner released mine he repeated: 
^ "Get that message to Garcia!" 

^ Hastily, as I set about to make my preparations, I 
considered my situation. My duty was, as I understood 
it, complicated by the fact that a state of war did not 
exist, nor would it exist at the time of my departure; 
possibly not until after my arrival in Jamaica. A false 
step might bring about a condition that a lifetime of 
statement would never explain. Should war be declared 
my mission would be simplified, although its dangers 
would not be lessened. 

^ In instances of this kind, where one's reputation, as 
well as his life, is at stake, it is usual to ask for written 
instructions. In military service the life of the man is 
at the disposal of his country, but his reputation is his 
own and it ought not be placed in the hands of anyone 
with power to destroy it, either by neglect or other- 
wise. But in this case it never occurred to me to ask 
for written instructions; my sole thought was that I 
was charged with a message to Garcia and to get from 
him certain information and that I was going to do it. 



HOW I CARRIED THE MESSAGE TO GARCIA 

^ Whether Colonel Wagner ever placed on file in the 
office of the adjutant-general the substance of our con- 
versation I do not know. At this late day it matters 
little. 

q My train left Washington at 12:01 a. m., and I have 
a recollection of thinking of an old superstition about 
starting on a journey on Friday. It was Saturday when 
the train departed, but it was Friday when I left the 
club. I assumed the Fates would decide that I had left 
on Friday. But I soon forgot that in my mental dis- 
cussion of other matters and did not recall it until some 
time afterward and then it mattered nothing, for my 
mission had been completed. 

^ The "Adirondack" left on time and the voyage was 
without special incident. I held myself aloof from the 
other passengers and learned only from a traveling com- 
panion, an electrical engineer, what was going on. He 
conveyed to me the cheerful information that because of 
my keeping away from them and giving no one any 
information as to my business, a bunch of convivial spir- 
its had conferred on me the title of "the bunco steerer." 
^ It was when the ship entered Cuban waters that I 
first realized danger. I had but one incriminating pa- 
\/ per, a letter from the State Department to officials in 
Jamaica saying that I was what I might represent my- 
self to be. But if war had been declared before the 
Adirondack entered Cuban waters she would have been 
liable to search by Spain, under the rules of interna- 
tional law. As I was contraband and the bearer of 
contraband I could have been seized as a prisoner of 
war and taken aboard any Spanish ship, while the Brit- 
ish boat, after compliance with specified preliminaries, 
could have been sunk, despite the fact that she left a 
peaceful port under a neutral flag, bound for a neutral 
port, prior to a declaration of war. 

tgi Recalling this state of affairs, I hid this paper in 
the life preserver in my stateroom and it was with 
great relief I saw the cape astern. 



HOW I CARRIED THE MESSAGE TO GARCIA 

^ By nine next morning I had landed and was a guest 
of Jamaica. I was soon in touch with Mr. Lay, head 
of the Cuban junta, and with him and his aids planning 
to get to Garcia as soon as possible. 
q I had left Washington April 8-9. April 20 the ca- 
bles announced that the United States had given Spain 
until the 23 to agree to surrender Cuba to the Cubans 
and to withdraw her armed forces from the island and 
her navy from its waters. I had in cypher cabled my 
arrival and on April 23 a reply in code came: 
^ "Joii^ Garcia as soon as possible!" 
C| In a few minutes after its receipt I was at head- 
quarters of the junta, where I was expected. There 
were a number of exiled Cubans present whom I had 
not met before and we were conversing on general top- 
ics when a carriage drove up. 
^ "It is time!" some one exclaimed in Spanish. 
^ Following which, without further discussion, I was 
led to the vehicle and took a seat inside. 
^ Then began one of the strangest rides ever taken by 
a soldier on duty or off. My driver proved to be the 
most taciturn of Jehus. He spoke not to me, nor heeded 
me when I spoke to him. The instant I was shut ill 
he started through the maze of Kingston's streets at a 
furious pace. On and on he drove, never slackening 
speed, and soon we had passed the suburbs and were 
beyond all habitations. I knocked, yes, kicked, but he 
gave no heed. 

He seemed to understand that I was carrying a mes- 
sage to Garcia and that it was his part to get me over 
he first "leg" of the journey as speedily as possible. 
So, after several futile efforts to make him listen to me, 
[ decided to let matters take their course and settled 
Dack in my seat. 

Four miles farther, through a dense growth of trop- 
cal trees, we flew along the broad and level Spanish 
Town road, until at the edge of the jungle we halted, 
he door of the cab was opened, a strange face appeared 



HOW I CARRIED THE MESSAGE TO GARCIA 

and I was invited to transfer to another carriage that 
was waiting. 

^ But the strangeness of it all! The order in which 
everything appeared to be arranged! Not an unneces- 
sary word was indulged in, not a second of time was 
wasted. 

^ A minute later and again I was on my way. 
^ The second driver, like the first, was dumb. He de- 
clined all efforts made to get him in conversation, con- 
tenting himself by putting his horses to as swift a pace 
as possible, so on we went through Spanish Town and 
up the valley of the Cobre river to the backbone of the 
island where the road runs down to the ultramarine wa- 
ters of the Caribbean at St. Ann's Bay. 
^ Still not a word from my driver, although I repeat- 
edly endeavored to get him to talk to me. Not a sound, 
not a sign that he understood me; just a race along a 
splendid road, breathing more freely as the altitude in- 
creased, until as the sun set we drew up beside a rail- 
way station. 

^ But what is this mass of ebony rolling down the 
slope of the cut toward me? Had the Spanish author- 
ities anticipated me and placed Jamaica officers on my 
trail? I was uneasy for a moment as this apparition 
came in sight, but relief came when an old negro hob- 
bled to the carriage and shoved through the door a de- 
liciously fried chicken and two bottles of Bass' ale, at 
the same time letting loose a volley of dialect, which, 
as I was able to catch a word here and there, I under 
stood was highly complimentary to me for helping Cuba 
gain her freedom and giving me to understand that he 
was ''doing his bit" with me. 
^ But my driver stood not on ceremony, nor was he 
interested in either chicken or conversation. In a trice a 
new pair of horses was relayed on and away we went. 
my Jehu plying his whip vigorously. I had only timt 
enough to thank the old negro by shouting : 
^ "Good-by, uncle!" 

10 



HOW I CARRIED THE MESSAGE TO GARCIA 



^ In another minute we had left him and were racing 
through the darkness at break-neck speed. 
^ Although I fully comprehended the gravity and im- 
portance of the errand in which I was engaged, I lost 
sight of it for the time in my admiration of the tropical 
forests. These wear their beauty at night as well as by 
day. The difference is that while during the Sunlight 
it is the vegetable world that is in perennial bloom, at 
night it is the insect world in its flight that excites 
attention. Hardly had the short twilight changed to 
utter darkness when the glow-worms turned on their 
phosphorescent lights and flooded the woods with their 
weird beauties. These magnificent fireflies illuminated 
with their incandescence the forest I was traversing un- 
til it resembled a veritable fairyland. 
^ But even such wonders as these are forgotten in the 
recollection of duty to be performed. We still coursed 
onward at a speed that was limited only by the physical 
abilities of the horses, when suddenly a shrill whistle 
sounded from the jungle! 

C| My carriage stopped. Men appeared as if they had 
sprung from the ground. I was surrounded by a party 
of men armed to the teeth. I had no fear of being inter- 
cepted on British soil by Spanish soldiers, but these ab- 
rupt halts were getting on my nerves, because action by 
the Jamaica authorities would mean the failure of the 
mission, and if the Jamaica authorities had been notified 
that I was violating the neutrality of the island I would 
not be allowed to proceed. What if these men were 
English soldiers! 

^ But my feelings were soon relieved. A whispered 
parley and we were away again! 

^ In about an hour we halted in front of a house out- 
lined by feeble Hghts within. Supper waited. The junta 
manifestly believed in liberal feeding. 
^ The first thing offered me was a glass of Jamaica 
rum. I do not recall that I was tired, although we 
had traveled about seventy miles in approximately nine 



11 



HOW I CARRIED THE MESSAGE TO GARCIA 

hours with two relays, but I do know that the rum 
was welcome. 

^ Following came introductions. From an adjoining 
room came a tall, wiry, determined-looking man, with 
a fierce moustache, one of his hands minus a thumb ; a 
man to tie to in an emergency, to trust at any time. 
His eyes were honest, loyal eyes that mirrored a noble 
soul. He was a Peninsula Spaniard who had gone to 
Cuba, at Santiago had quarreled with the rule of Old 
Spain, hence the missing thumb and exile. He was Ger- 
vacio Sabio and he was charged with seeing that I was 
guided to General Garcia for the delivery of my mes- 
sage. The others were the men employed to get me out 
of Jamaica — seven miles remaining to be traveled — 
with one exception, one man was to be my "assistente," 
or orderly. 

^ Following a rest of an hour we proceeded. Half an 
hour's travel from the hut we were again halted by 
whistle signals. We alighted and entered a cane field 
through which we tramped in silence for about a mile 
until we came to a cocoanut grove bordering a play- 
thing of a bay. 

^ Fifty yards off shore a small fishing boat rocked 
softly on the water. Suddenly a light flashed aboard 
the little craft. It must have been a time signal, for 
our arrival had been noiseless. Gervacio, apparently sat- 
isfied with the alertness of the crew, answered it. 
^ Following some conversation during which I thanked 
the agents of the junta, I climbed on the back of one 
of the boat's crew who had waded ashore and was car- 
ried to the boat. 

^ 1 had completed the first part of the journey to 
Garcia. 

^ Once aboard the boat I noted that it was partially 
filled with boulders intended for ballast. Oblong bun- 
dles indicated cargo, but not sufficient to impede prog- 
ress. But with Gervacio as skipper, the crew of two men, 

12 



HOW I CARRIED THE MESSAGE TO GARCIA 

my assistente and myself, the boulders and the bundles, 
there was little room for comfort. 

^ I indicated to Gervacio my desire to get beyond the 
three-mile limit as soon as possible, as I did not want 
to impose upon the hospitality of Great Britain longer 
than necessary. He replied that the boat would have 
to be rowed beyond the headlands, as there was not 
sufficient wind in the small bay to fill her sails. We 
were soon outside the cape, however, our sails caught 
the breeze and the second stretch of the trip to the 
strife-torn objective was begun. 

^ I have no hesitation in saying that there were some 
anxious moments for me following our departure. My 
reputation was at stake if I should be caught within 
the three-mile limit off the Jamaica coast. My life 
would be at stake if I should be caught within three 
miles of the Cuban coast. My only friends were the 
crew and the Caribbean sea. 

^ One hundred miles to the north lay the shores of 
Cuba, patroled by Spanish *'lanchas," light-draft vessels 
armed with pivot guns of small caliber, and machine 
guns, their crews provided with Mauser rifles, far su- 
perior — as I afterward learned — to anything we had 
aboard; as motley a collection of small arms as could 
be picked up anywhere. In the event of an encounter 
with one of these "lanchas" there was little to hope for. 
^ But I must succeed; I must find Garcia and deliver 
my message! 

^ Our plan of action was to keep outside the Cuban 
three-mile limit until after sunset, then to sail or row 
in rapidly, draw behind some friendly coral reef and 
wait until morning. If we were caught, as we car- 
ried no papers, we would probably be sunk and no 
questions asked. Boulder-laden craft go to the bottom 
quickly and floating bodies tell no tales to those who 
find them. 

^ It was now early morning, the air was deliciously 
cool and, wearied with my journey thus far I was about 

13 



HOW I CARRIED THE MESSAGE TO GARCIA 

to seek some rest in sleep when suddenly Gervacio gave 
an exclamation that brought us all to our feet. A few 
miles away one of the dreaded lanchas was bearing di- 
rectly toward us. 

^ A sharp command in Spanish and the crew dropped 
the sail. 

^ Another and all save Gervacio, who was at the helm, 
were below the gunwale, and he was lounging over the 
tiller, keeping the boat's nose parallel with the Jamaica 
shore. 

^ "He may think I am a 'lone fisherman" from Jamaica 
and go by us," said the cool-headed steersman. 
^ So it proved. When within hailing distance the pert 
young commander of the lancha cried in Spanish : 
^ "Catching anything?" 

^ To which my guide responded, also in Spanish: 
^ "No, the miserable fish are not biting this morning!" 
^ If only that midshipman, or whatever his rank, had 
been wise enough to lay alongside, he surely would have 
"caught something," and this story would never have 
been written. When he had passed us and was some 
distance away, Gervacio ordered sail hoisted again and 
turning to me remarked: 

^"If the Senor is tired and wants sleep, he can now in- 
dulge himself, for I think the danger is past." 
^ If anything occurred during the next six hours, it 
left me undisturbed. In fact, I believed that nothing 
except the broiling heat of the tropical sun could have 
drawn me from my rocky mattress. But it did for 
the Cubans, who were quite proud of their Eng- 
lish, greeted me with: "Buenos dias, Meester Rowan!" 
The sun shone brilliantly all day. Jamaica was all 
aglow, like some mighty jewel in a setting of emerald. 
The turquoise sky was cloudless and to the south the 
green slopes of the island were blocked off in large 
squares, showing to great advantage the light verdancy 
of the cane fields alternating with the deeper hue of the 
forests. It was a splendid and a magnificent picture. 

14 



^ 



HOW I CARRIED THE MESSAGE TO GARCIA 

But northward all was gloom. An immense bank of 
clouds enshrouded Cuba and, watch as keenly as we 
might, we saw no sign of their lifting. But the wind 
held true and even increased in volume during the 
hours. We were making good progress and Gervacio 
at the tiller was happy, joking with the crew and smok- 
ing like a *'fumarole." 

q About four o'clock in the afternoon the clouds broke 
away and the Sierra Maestra, the master mountain range 
of the island, stood in the golden sunshine in all its 
beauteous majesty. It was like drawing the curtain 
aside and placing on view a matchless picture by an 
artist monarch. Here were color, mass, mountain, land 
and sea blended in one splendid ensemble, the like of 
which is found nowhere else, for there is no place on 
earth where a mountain range rises abruptly from the 
ocean to a height of 8000 feet, its summits clothed in 
verdure and its great battlements extending for hun- 
dreds of miles! 

^ But my admiration was short lived. Gervacio broke 
the spell when he began taking in sail. To my ques- 
tion he replied: 

^ "We are closer in than I thought. We are in the 
war zone of the lanchas, high seas or no high seas. We 
must stand well out and use the open water for all it 
is worth. To go closer and run the risk of being seen 
by the enemy is merely to run an unnecessary risk." 
^ Hastily we overhauled the arsenal. I carried only 
a Smith & Wesson revolver, so I was assigned a fright- 
ful looking rifle. I might have been able to fire it once, 
but I doubt if it would have been of further service. 
The crew and my assistente were provided with the 
same formidable weapons, while the pilot, who from his 
seat looked after the jib, the only sail set, drew close 
to him the other weapons. The real serious part of 
my mission was now at hand. Hitherto everything had 
been easy and comparatively safe. Now danger men- 

15 



HOW I CARRIED THE MESSAGE TO GARCIA 



aced. Grave danger. Capture meant death and my 
failure to carry my message to Garcia. 
^ We were probably twenty-five miles from the coast, 
although it seemed but a span away. It was not until 
nearly midnight that the jib-sheet was let go and the 
crew began sounding the shallow water with their oars. 
Then a timely roller gave us a last lift and with a 
mighty effort shoved us into the waters of a hidden, 
peaceful bay. We anchored in the darkness fifty yards 
off shore. I suggested that we land at once, but Ger- 
vacio replied: 

^ "We have enemies both ashore and afloat, Senor; 
it is better that we stay where we are. Should any 
lancha endeavor to pry us out she would likely land on 
the submerged coral reef we have crossed and we can 
get ashore, and from the obscurity of the grape entan- 
glements we can play the game." 

^ The tropical haze which ever hangs mistlike at the 
meeting of the sea and sky in low altitudes began to 
lift slowly, disclosing a mass of grape, mangrove thick- 
ets and thorn-set trees, reaching almost to the edge of 
the water. It was difficult to perceive objects with dis- 
tinctness, but as if declining to puzzle us further as to 
the nature of our surroundings, the sun rose gloriously 
over El Turquino, the highest point in all Cuba. In 
an instant everything had changed, the mist had van- 
ished, the darkness of the low-lying thicket against the 
mountain wall had been dissipated, the gray of the wa- 
ter breaking against the shore had been transformed 
as if by magic to a marvelous green. It was one splen- 
did triumph of light over darkness. 

^ Already the crew were busy transferring luggage 
ashore. Noting me standing mute and seemingly dazed, 
for I was thinking of the lines by a poet who must have 
had a similar scene in mind when he wrote : 

^ "Night's candles are burnt out and jocund day 
16 



HOW I CARRIED THE MESSAGE TO GARCIA 

^ Stands tip-toe on the misty mountain tops," 
Gervacio said in a low tone to me: 
^ "El Turquino, Senor!"— the Tutor. 
^ As I stood there drinking in the glory of that mar- 
vellous morning, little did I dream that I was standing 
within a stone's throw, almost, of what was soon to be 
the watery sepulchre of the mighty "Colon," a great 
battleship, then first in her class and bearing the name 
of the greatest of all admirals, Christopher Columbus, 
the discoverer of America, this great ship having already 
been selected by the Fates to be destroyed by our own 
warships in the sea fight off Santiago. 
^ But my reveries were soon ended. The freight was 
landed, I was carried ashore, the boat dragged to a 
small estuary, overturned and hidden in the jungle. By 
this time a number of ragged Cubans had assembled at 
our landing place. Where they came from, or how they 
knew that our party was a friendly one, were problems 
too deep for me. Signals of some sort had doubtless 
been exchanged and they had come to act as burden- 
bearers. Some of them had seen service, some of them 
bore the marks made by Mauser bullets. 
^ Our landing place seemed to be a junction of paths 
running in all directions away from the coast and into 
the thicket. Off to the west, seemingly about a mile 
away, little columns of smoke were rising through the 
vegetation. I learned that this smoke was from a "sa- 
lina," or pan where salt was being made for the refu- 

Igee Cubans who had hidden in these mountains after 
fleeing from the dreaded concentration camps. 
^ The second "leg" of the journey was completed. 
^ Hitherto there had been danger; from this time on 
there would be more. Spanish troops mercilessly hunt- 
ed down Cubans and small mercy was shown by the 
forces directed by Weyler, the "butcher," to men found 
in arms, or outside the concentration camps, even though 
they might be unarmed. The remainder of the journey 
to Garcia was fraught with many dangers and I knew 

/ 17 



HOW I CARRIED THE MESSAGE TO GARCIA 

it, but this was no time to consider them; I must be 
on my way! 

C| The topography of the country was simple enough; 
a level strip of land extending a mile or so inland to- 
ward the north, covered with jungle. Man's handiwork 
had been confined to cutting paths, and the network 
could be threaded only by the Cubans reared in this 
labyrinth. The heat soon became oppressive and caused 
me to envy my companions, none of whom were bur- 
dened by superfluous clothing. 

^ Soon we were on the march, screened from the sea 
and the mountains, and, indeed, from each other, by 
the denseness of the foliage, the twists and turns of the 
trail and the torrid haze that soon settled over every- 
thing. The jungle was converted into a miniature in- 
ferno by the sun, although we could not see it through 
the verdure. But as we left the coast and approached 
the foothills the jungle began to give way to a larger 
and less dense growth. We soon reached a clearing 
where we found a few bearing cocoanut trees. The wa- 
ter, fresh and cool, drawn from the nuts, was elixir to 
our parched throats. 

^ But not long did we tarry in this pleasant spot. A 
march of miles lay before us and a climb up steep moun- 
tain slopes to another hidden clearing must be made be- 
fore nightfall. Soon we had entered the true tropical 
forest. Here traveling was somewhat easier, for a cur- 
rent of air, hardly perceptible, but a current of air nev- 
ertheless, made breathing less of a task and, by far, 
more refreshing. 

^ Through this forest runs the "Royal Road" from 
Portillo to Santiago de Cuba. As we neared this high- 
way I noted my companions one by one disappearing in 
the jungle. I was soon left alone with Gervacio. Turn- 
ing to him to ask a question I saw him place a finger on 
his lips, mutely sign to me to have my rifle and revolver 
in readiness and then he too vanished amid the tropical 
growth, 

18 



HOW I CARRIED THE MESSAGE TO GARCIA 

^ I was not long in ascertaining the reason for this 
strange conduct. The jingle of horses' trappings, the 
rattling of the short sabers carried by Spanish cavalry 
and occasionally a word of command, fell on my ear. 
^ But for the vigilance of those with me we should 
have walked out on the highway just in time to encoun- 
ter a hostile force! 

Q I cocked my rifle and swung my Smith & Wesson 
into position for quick action and waited tensely for 
what was to follow. Every moment I expected to hear 
reports of firearms. But none came and one by one the 
men returned, Gervacio being among the last. 
^ "We scattered in order to deceive them in the event 
we had been discovered. We covered a considerable 
stretch of the road and had firing been commenced the 
enemy would have believed it an attack in force from 
ambush. It would have been a successful one too," 
Gervacio added with an expression of regret, "but duty 
first and, — " here he smiled, — "pleasure afterward !" 
^ Beside the trails along which insurgent parties usu- 
ally passed, it was the custom to build fires and bury 
sweet potatoes in the ashes. There they roasted until 
a hungry party should pass. We came upon one of 
these fires during the afternoon. A baked sweet po- 
tato was passed out to each of the party, the fire cov- 
ered again and the march resumed. 
^ As we ate our sweet potatoes I thought of Marion 
and his men in the days of the revolution, who fought 
their battles on a like diet, and through my mind flashed 
the idea that as Marion and his men had fought to 
victory, so also would these Cubans, who were inspired 
by a desire for liberty similar to that actuating the pa- 
triot fathers of my own country, and it was with a feel- 
ing of pride that I recalled that my mission was to aid 
these people in their eff^orts by communicating with their 

19 



HOW I CARRIED THE MESSAGE TO GARCIA 

general and making it possible for the soldiers of my 
nation to do battle in their behalf. 

^ Arriving at the end of the journey for the day, I ob- 
served a number of men in a dress strange to me. 
^ "Who are these?" I inquired. 

^ "They are deserters from the army of Spain, Senor," 
replied Gervacio. "They have fled from Manzanillo and 
they say that lack of food and harsh treatment by their 
officers were the reasons for their leaving." 
^ Now a deserter is sometimes of value, but here in 
this wilderness I would have preferred their room to 
their company. Who could say that one or more of 
them might not leave camp at any time and warn the 
Spanish officials that an American was crossing Cuba, 
evidently bound for the camp of General Garcia? Would 
not the enemy make every effort to thwart him in his 
mission? So I said to Gervacio: 

^ "Question these men closely and see that they do 
not leave camp during our stay!" 
^ "Si, Senor!" was the reply. 

^ Well for me and the success of my errand that I had 
given out such instruction. My thought that one or 
more deserters might leave to apprise the Spanish com- 
mander of my presence proved to be the correct one. 
Although it is not fair to presume that any knew my 
mission, my being there was sufficient to arouse the sus- 
picions of two who proved to be spies and also nearly 
resulted in my assassination. These two determined to 
leave camp that night and plunge through the thickets 
to the Spanish lines with the information that an "offi- 
cer Americano" was being escorted across Cuba. 
^ I was awakened some time after midnight by the 
challenge of a sentinel, followed by a shot, and almost 
instantly a shadowy form appeared close by my ham- 
mock. I sprang up and out on the opposite side just as 
another form appeared and in less time than it takes to 
write it the first one had fallen as the result of a blow 
from a machete, which cut through the bones of his 

20 



HOW I CARRIED THE MESSAGE TO GARCIA 

right shoulder to the lung. The wretch lived long 
enough to tell us that it was agreed if his comrade 
failed to get out of camp, he should kill me and prevent 
the carrying out of whatever project I was engaged in. 
The sentinel shot and killed his comrade. 
^ Horses and saddles were not available until late next 
day, at an hour that made it impossible to proceed. I 
chafed at the delay, but it could not be helped. Sad- 
dles were harder to secure than horses. I was some- 
what impatient and asked Gervacio why we could not 
proceed without saddles. 

^ "General Garcia is besieging Bayamo, in Central 
Cuba, Senor," was his reply, "and we shall have to travel 
a considerable distance in order to reach him." 
^ This was the reason for the search for "monturas," 
the saddles and trappings. One look at the steed as- 
signed me and my admiration for the wisdom of my 
guide mounted rapidly and increased noticeably during 
the four days' ride. Had I ridden that skeleton without 
a saddle it would have meant exquisite torture. How- 
ever, I will say for the horse, that with his "montura" 
he proved a mettlesome beast, far superior to many a 
well-fed horse of the plains of America. 
^ Our trail followed the backbone of the ridge for 
some distance after leaving camp. One unaccustomed 
to these trails must surely have been driven desperate 
by the perplexity of the wilderness, but our guides seem- 
ed to be as familiar with the tortuous windings as they 
would have been on a broad high road. 
^ Shortly after we had left the divide and had begun 
the descent of the eastern slope we were greeted by a 
motley assembly of children and an old man whose 
white hair streamed down his shoulders. The column 
halted, a few words passed between the patriarch and 
Gervacio, and then the forest rang with "Vivas," for 
the United States, for Cuba and the "Delegado Ameri- 
cano." It was a touching incident. How they had learn- 
ed of my approach I never knew; but news travels 

21 



HOW I CARRIED THE MESSAGE TO GARCIA 

fast in the jungle and my arrival had made one old man 
and a crowd of little children happier. 
^ At Yara, where the river leaves the foothills we 
camped that night, it was brought to me that we were 
in a zone where danger lurked. "Trincheras" or trenches 
had been built to defend the gorge should the Spanish 
columns march out from Manzanillo. Yara is a great 
name in Cuban history, for from the town of Yara came 
the first cry for "liberty" in the "Ten Years' War" of 
1868-78. I was asked to swing my hammock behind 
the trinchera, which, by the way, was not a trench at 
all, but a breast-high wall of stones, and I noticed that 
a guard, recruited from some unknown source, was post- 
ed and kept on duty all night. 

^ Gervacio intended taking no chances on my mission 
being a failure. 

^ Next morning we began the ascent of the spur pro- 
jecting northward from the Sierra Maestra, forming the 
east bank of the river. Our course lay across the eroded 
ridges. Danger lurked in the lowlands. There was the 
possibility of ambuscade, fire and the chance of being 
cut off by some mobile party of Spaniards. 
^ Here began a series of ups and downs across the 
streams with vertical banks. In my career I have seen 
much cruelty to animals, but never anything to equal 
this. To get the poor horses down to the bottom of 
these gulches and out again involved forms of punish- 
ment beyond belief. But there was no help for it; the 
message to Garcia must be delivered, and in war what 
are the sufferings of a few horses when the freedom of 
hundreds of thousands of human beings is at stake? 
I felt sorry for the brutes, but this was no time for 
sentiment. 

^ It was with great relief that after the hardest day 
of riding I had ever experienced we halted at a hut in 
the midst of corn patches near the edges of the forest, 
at Jibaro. A freshly killed beef was hanging to the 
rafters, while the cook in the open was busy prepar- 

22 



HOW I CARRIED THE MESSAGE TO GARCIA 

ing a meal for the *'Delegado Americano." My coming 
had been heralded and my feast was to consist of fresh 
beef and cassava bread. 

^ Hardly had I finished my generous meal when a 
great commotion was heard, voices and the clatter of 
horses' hoofs at the edge of the forest. Colonel Cas- 
tillo of the staff of General Rios had arrived. He wel- 
comed me in the name of his chief, who was due to 
arrive in the morning, with all the grace of a trained 
staff officer; then mounting his steed with an athletic 
spring, put the spurs to his mount in frenzied fashion 
and was off, as he came, like a flash. His welcome as- 
sured me that I was making headway under a skilful 
guide. 

^ General Rios came next morning and with him Col- 
onel Castillo, who presented me with a Panama hat 
"made in Cuba." General Rios was "the general of the 
coasts." He was very dark, evidently of Indian and 
Spanish blood, with springy, athletic step. No Spanish 
column ever made a sortie in his district and found him 
unprepared. His sources of information and his intui- 
tion were uncanny. It was no small task to move hid- 
ing families and provide for their maintenance, but he 
did it, and, as may be supposed, advance information of 
enemy movements was imperative. The Spanish meth- 
ods were to enter the forests, scour them and, in default 
of prey, lay the districts in waste. Meanwhile General 
Rios would conduct matters in guerilla fashion and his 
forces were continuously taking pot shots at the Span- 
ish columns, sometimes doing terrible execution. 
^ General Rios added two hundred cavalrymen to my 
escort. As we marched single file we would have pre- 
sented a formidable appearance had there been anyone 
to see us. 

^ I could not help observing that we were being led 
with remarkable skill and speed. We had entered the 
forest again and were hiding in the evergreen dress of 
the Sierra Maestra. The trail was comparatively level, 

23 



HOW I CARRIED THE MESSAGE TO GARCIA 

but crossed at intervals by water courses with steep 
banks. The paths were so narrow we were constantly 
running afoul of tree trunks, barking our shins and dis- 
lodging the impedimenta from the backs of our horses. 
Still the guide held to a steady gait that caused me to 
marvel. My usual position was near the center of the 
column, but I wanted to be near this centaur who was 
in the lead and at the next water course crossing I rode 
forward to observe him. He was a coal black negro, 
Dionisio Lopez, a lieutenant in the Cuban army. He 
could trace a course through this trackless forest, 
through the tangled growth, as fast as he could ride. 
His skill with a machete was amazing. He carved a 
way for us through the jungle. Networks of vines fell 
before his steady strokes right and left; closed spaces 
became openings; the man appeared tireless. 
^ The night of April 30 brought us to the Rio Buey, 
an affluent of the Bayamo River, and about twenty miles 
from the city of Bayamo. Our hammocks had scarcely 
been swung when Gervacio appeared, his face aglow 
with satisfaction. 

^ "He is there, Senor! General Garcia is in Bayamo 
and the Spaniards are in retreat down the Cauto river. 
Their rear-guard is at Cauto-El-Embarcadero !" 
^ So eager was I to get in communication with Gar- 
cia that I proposed a night ride, but after a conference 
it was decided that nothing would be gained. 
^ May-day, 1898, is "Dewey Day" in our calendar. As 
I was sleeping in the forests of Cuba, the great ad- 
miral was feeling his way past the guns of Corregidor 
into Manila Bay to destroy the Spanish fleet. While 
I was on my way to Garcia that day he had sunk the 
Spanish ships and with his guns was menacing the cap- 
ital of the Philippines. 

^ Early that morning we were on our way. Terrace 
by terrace we descended the slope leading to the plain 
of Bayamo. This great stretch of country, laid waste 
for years, was now as if man had never been. At the 
black remnant of the hacienda of Candalaria, mute evi- 
24 



HOW I CARRIED THE MESSAGE TO GARCIA 



dence of Spanish methods of warfare, we passed into the 
plain. We had ridden more than one hundred miles 
through a wilderness with hardly a habitation to show 
that man had ever lived in one of Nature's most fav- 
ored spots across a tropical garden gone to weeds. 
Through grass so high that our column was hidden 
from sight, through burning sun and blistering heat, we 
traveled, but all our discomforts were forgotten in the 
thought that our destination was at hand; our mission 
nearly ended. Even our jaded horses seemed to share 
in our anticipation and eagnerness. 

^ At the erstwhile Peralejo, the scene of the attack 
by Maceo on the column of General Campos, we struck 
the royal road to Manzanillo-Bayamo and encountered 
joyous human beings in rags and tatters, all hurrying 
toward the town. The chatter of these happy groups 
reminded me of the parrots that had shrieked at our 
passage through the jungles. They were going back to 
the homes from which they had been driven. 
^ It was but a short ride from Paralejo to the banks 
of the eastern side of the river to the town, once a city 
of 30,000, now a mere village of perhaps 2000. It was 
surrounded by a row of blockhouses the Spaniards had 
built on both sides of the stream. These Httle forts 
were the first objects to be seen and their prominence 
was emphasized by the flames and smoke still rising 
as we came into view. The Cubans had set them on 
fire when they entered the former metropolis of this 
once flourishing valley. 

^ We soon lined up on the bank, and after Gervacio 
and Lopez had talked to the guards, we proceeded. We 
halted in mid-stream to allow our horses to drink and 
to store up a little energy for our final dash into the 
presence of the officer in charge of Cuba's military des- 
tiny east of the Jucaro-Moron trocha.* 

* I quote from the newspapers of the day : "The Cuban generals say the 
arrival of Lieutenant Rowan aroused the greatest enthusiasm throughout the 
Cuban army. There was no notice of his coming and the first seen of Lieu- 
tenant Rowan was as he galloped up Calle Commercial, followed by the Cu- 
ban guides who accompanied him." 

25 



HOW I CARRIED THE MESSAGE TO GARCIA 

^ In a few minutes I was in the presence of Gen- 
eral Garcia. 

^ The long and toilsome journey with its many risks, 
its chances of failure, its chances for death, was over. 
^ I had succeeded. 

Q As we arrived in front of General Garcia's headquar- 
ters the Cuban flag was hanging lazily over the door 
from an inclined staff. The method of reaching the 
presence of a man to whom one is accredited in such 
circumstances was new to me. We formed in line, dis- 
mounted together, and "stood to horse." Gervacio was 
known to the general, so he advanced to the door and 
was admitted. He returned in a short time with Gen- 
eral Garcia, who greeted me cordially and asked me to 
enter with my assistente. The general introduced me 
to his staff — all in clean white uniforms and wearing 
side arms — and explained that the delay was caused by 
the necessary scrutiny of my credentials from the Cuban 
junta at Jamaica, which Gervacio had delivered to him. 
^ There is humor in everything. I had been described 
in letters from the junta as "a man of confidence." The 
translator had made me "a confidence man." 
^ Following breakfast we proceeded to business. I 
explained to General Garcia that my errand was purely 
military in its character, although I had left the United 
States with diplomatic credentials; that the President 
and the War Department desired the latest information 
respecting the military situation in Eastern Cuba. (Two 
other officers had been sent to Central and Western 
Cuba, but they were unable to reach their objectives.) 
Among matters it was imperative for the United States 
to know were the positions occupied by the Spanish 
troops, the condition and number of the Spanish forces, 
the character of their officers; especially of their com- 
manding officers ; the morale of the Spanish troops ; the 
topography of the country, both local and general; com- 
munications, especially the conditions of the roads; in 
short, any information which would enable the Ameri- 

26 



\ 



HOW I CARRIED THE MESSAGE TO GARCIA 

can general staff to lay out a campaign. Last, but by 
no means least, General Garcia's suggestions as to a 
plan of campaign, joint or separate, between the Cuban 
armies and the forces of the United States. Also I in- 
formed him, my government would be glad to receive 
the same information respecting the Cuban forces, or 
as much as the general saw fit to give. If not incom- 
patible with his plans, I would like to accompany the 
Cuban forces in the field in such capacity as he might 
see fit to assign me. 

^ General Garcia meditated for a moment and then 
withdrew with all the members of his staff excepting 
Colonel Garcia, his son, who remained with me. About 
three o'clock the general returned and said he had de- 
cided to send three officers to the United States with 
me. These officers were men who had passed their 
lives in Cuba; were trained and tried; all knew the 
country, and in their particular capacities could answer 
all questions likely to be propounded. Were I to re- 
main months in Cuba I might not be able to make so 
complete a report, and as time was the important ele- 
ment, the quicker the United States government got 
the information the better it would be for all concerned. 
^ He went on to explain that his men needed arms, 
especially artillery, important in assaulting block-houses. 
In ammunition he was very short, and the many rifles 
of varied calibre used made it difficult to get an ample 
supply. He thought it might be better to re-arm his 
men with American rifles in order to simplify that 
question. 

^ General Collazo, a noted figure; Colonel Hernandez 
and Doctor Vieta, a valued relative who was familiar 
with the diseases of the island and the tropics generally, 
and two sailors, both familiar with the north coast, 
would go with us ; they might be useful on the return 
expedition in case the United States should decide to 
furnish the supplies he wanted. 
^ Could I proceed that day^-hoy mismo? 

27 



HOW I CARRIED THE MESSAGE TO GARCIA 

^ Could I ask more? 

^ Could I ask more? I had been continuously on the 
move for nine days in all kinds and conditions of ter- 
rain. I would have liked to have had a chance to look 
around me in these strange surroundings, but my an- 
swer was as prompt as his question. I simply replied : 
q "Yes, sir!" 

^ Why not? General Garcia by his quick conception 
and speedy acceptance of conditions had saved me 
months of useless toil and had given my country the 
means of obtaining as minute information of the exist- 
ing situation in the island as that possessed by the Cu- 
bans themselves ; certainly as good as the enemy had. 
q For the next two hours I was the recipient of an 
informal reception. Then a final meal was served at 
five o'clock, and at its conclusion I was told that my 
escort was at the door. When I reached the street I 
was surprised not to see my former guide and compan- 
ion in the column. I asked for Gervacio, and he and 
the others of the contingent from Jamaica came out. 
Gervacio wanted to go with me, but Garcia was ada- 
mant; all were needed for service on the south coast 
and I was to return by the north. I expressed to the 
general my appreciation for the services of Gervacio 
and his crew, and the column drafted from the fast- 
nesses of Sierra Maestra. After a real Latin embrace 
I broke away and mounted. Three cheers rang out as 
we galloped northward. 
^ I had delivered my message to Garcia! 
q My journey to General Garcia had been fraught with 
many dangers, but it was, compared with my trip back to 
the United States, by far the more important, an innocent 
ramble through a fair country. Going in there had been 
little to contend with, for the voyage from Jamaica had 
been on pleasant waters, while on the way to the Cuban 
commander I had been well guarded and well guided. 
But war had been declared and the Spanish were alert. 
Their soldiers patrolled every mile of shore, their boats 

28 



HOW I CARRIED THE MESSAGE TO GARCIA 

every bay and inlet, the great guns of their forts stood 
ready to speak in no uncertain tones to anyone violating 
the rules of w^arfare. To all intents and purposes I was 
a spy within the enemy lines! Discovery meant death 
with one's face to the wall. Nor had I thought of reck- 
oning with the angry elements of sea and air, which soon 
were to convince me that success is not always a matter 
of fair sailing. 

^ But the effort must be made and it must be success- 
ful, otherwise my mission had been fruitless. On the 
happy termination of it might depend, in a large meas- 
ure, the carrying to victory of the war. 
^ My companions shared with me the apprehensions 
that naturally arose, so it was with great caution that 
we proceeded across Cuba, northward, going around the 
Spanish position at Cauto-El-Embarcadero, head of navi- 
gation on that river, at least for gunboats, until we came 
to the bottle-shaped harbor of Manati, where, on the 
side opposite, a great fort, bristling with guns, guarded 
the entrance. 

^ If only the Spanish soldiery had known of our pres- 
ence ! But perhaps the very audacity of our undertaking 
was our salvation. Who would have suspected that an 
enemy on a mission such as was ours, would select such 
a place from which to embark? 

^ The boat in which we made the voyage was a cockle- 
shell, "capacity 104 cubic feet." For sails we had gunny- 
sacks, pieced together. For rations boiled beef and 
water. In this craft we were to sail, and we did sail, 150 
miles due north to New Providence, Nassau Island. 
Think of putting to sea on hostile waters, patrolled by 
swift, well-armed lanchas, in a vessel like that! 
^ But "needs be when the devil drives!" It was our 
only method of fulfilling the full measure of duty. 
^ It was at once apparent that this boat would not hold 
the six of us, so Dr. Vieta was sent back to Bayamo 
with the escort and the horses, while five of us prepared 
to run the gauntlet of Spanish guns and outwit Spanish 

29 



HOW I CARRIED THE MESSAGE TO GARCIA 



gun-boats with a craft not much larger than a skiff and 
with sails of gunny-sacks! 

^ There was a storm raging at the time we had fixed 
upon for our departure and we could not venture on the 
water while the waves were rolling so fiercely. Yet even 
in waiting there was danger ! It was the time of the full 
moon and should the clouds dissipate with the passing 
of the gale our presence might be detected. 
^ But the fates were with us ! 

q At 11 o'clock we embarked. With only five aboard 
the boat was well down in the water. The ragged clouds 
rushed like mad things across the face of the moon, al- 
ternately hiding and disclosing us, while four tugged at 
the oars and a fifth steered a course. We could not see 
the fort as we passed, and that perhaps was the reason 
we were not seen, but it required no great stretch of 
imagination to picture the frowning muzzles of the great 
guns and we toiled on, expecting at any moment to hear 
the boom of a cannon and the scream of a shot. Our 
little craft reeled and tossed like an egg-shell and niany 
times we were on the point of capsizing, but our sailors 
knew the course, our gunny-sack sails stood the test and 
soon we were making headway "across the trackless 
green." 

^ Weary with the unwonted toil and with nothing to 
break the monotony of riding first one wave crest and 
then another, I fell asleep sitting bolt upright. 
^ But not for long. An immense wave hit us, nearly 
filling our boat with water and almost capsizing us. 
From that time on there was no sleep for anyone. It 
was bail, bail, bail the long night through. Drenched 
with brine, weary and worn, we were glad enough to get 
a glimpse of the sun as it peered through the haze on 
the horizon. 

^ "Un vapor, Senores!" (a steamer) cried the steers- 
man. 
q A feeling of alarm agitated every heart. Suppose it 

30 



HOW I CARRIED THE MESSAGE TO GARCIA 

should be a Spanish warship? That would mean short 
shrift for all of us. 

^ "Dos vapores, tres vapores, Caramba! doce vapores!" 
cried the steersman, my companions echoing his cries. 
^ Could it be the Spanish fleet? 

^ But no, it was the battleships of Admiral Sampson, 
steaming eastward to attack San Juan del Puerto Rico! 
^ We breathed easier! 

^ All that day we broiled and bailed, bailed and broiled. 
Yet no one slept or relaxed his anxious outlook. Despite 
the presence of the United States warships a gun-boat 
might have escaped their vigilance and if so might over- 
take and capture us. Night fell on five of the most tired 
men that ever lived. We were almost worn out with 
fatigue, but for us there could be no rest. With the dark- 
ness came the wind again and with the wind the mighty 
waves and again it was bail, bail, bail, to keep the little 
vessel afloat. It was with feelings of intense relief that 
on the next morning. May 7, at about 10 o'clock, we 
sighted the Curly Keys at the southern end of Andros 
Islands of the Bahama group and right gladly did we 
land there for a brief rest. 

^ That afternoon we overhauled a sponging schooner, 
with a crew of thirteen negroes, who spoke some out- 
landish gibberish we did not understand, but sign lan- 
guage is universal, and soon we had made arrangements 
for a transfer. This schooner carried a litter of pigs for 
food and an accordeon. I never want to hear an accor- 
deon again. Tired almost to the point of utter exhaus- 
tion, I vainly sought sleep but the shrill notes of that 
instrument prevented it. 

^ Next afternoon we were captured by quarantine offi- 
cials as we turned the east end of New Providence 
Island, and were incarcerated at Hog Island, the fiction 
of yellow fever in Cuba having given them the excuse. 
^ But next day I got word to the American consul- 
general, Mr. McLean, and on May 10 he arranged our 

31 



HOW I CARRIED THE MESSAGE TO GARCIA 

release. May 11 the schooner Fearless drew near the 
wharf and we went aboard. 

^ We had got in behind Florida Keys when luck de- 
serted us. The wind went down and all day May 12 we 
lay becalmed, but at night a breeze came up and on the 
morning of May 13 we were in Key West. 
^ That night we took a train for Tampa and there 
boarded a train for Washington. 

^ We arrived on schedule time and I reported to Rus- 
sell A. Alger, secretary of war, who heard my story and 
told me to report to General Miles, taking General 
Garcia's aids with me. After he had received my report 
General Miles wrote the secretary of war: 
^ **I also recommend that First Lieutenant Andrew S. 
Rowan, 19th U. S. Infantry, be made a Heutenant-col- 
onel of one of the regiments of immunes. Lieutenant 
Rowan made a journey across Cuba, was with the 
insurgent army with Lieutenant - General Garcia, and 
brought most important and valuable information to the 
government. This was a most perilous undertaking, and 
in my judgment Lieutenant Rowan performed an act of 
heroism and cool daring that has rarely been excelled 
in the annals of warfare." 

^ I attended a meeting of the cabinet a day or so after 
my return, in company with General Miles, and at the 
close I received President McKinley's congratulations 
and thanks for the manner in which I had communi- 
cated his wishes to General Garcia and for the value 
of the work. 

^ "You have performed a very brave deed!" were his 
last words to me, and this was the first time it had 
occurred to me that I had done more than my simple 
duty, the duty of a soldier who 

^ "Is not to reason why," 
but to obey his orders. 
^ I had carried my message to Garcia. 



32 



l^l(ti i« p j » H «»«»ii»l » ' ** »<'^' 



IF YOU WROTE A BOOK THAf HAD THE 

Largest Circulation of Any Book ever written 

WriAT WOULD YOU SAY IF YOU WERE 

questioned about your book? 

HERE IS -WHAT HUBBARD SAID ABOUT 

The Book T^at Went Over the Topl^^vith the 

Largest circulation ever ^bwn in the 

history of the world. 

"The thing leaped hot from my heart, written 
after a trying day. 

The^ immediate suggestion came from a little ar- 
gument over the teacups, when my boy Bert sug<7 
gested that Rowan was the real hero of the Cubajl 
War. Rowan had gone alone and done the thing 
-rcarried the message to Garcia. 
It came to me like a flash! Yes, the boy is right. 
The hero is the man who does his work — ^who 
carries the Message to Garcia. I got up from the 
table, and wrote "A MESSAGE- TO GARCIA.". 
The edition went t)ut and soon orders began to 
come for extra copies. A dozen, fifty, a hundred, 
a thousand, and yes, a hundred thousand. Then 
in half million lots until finally it was translated 
into nearly every language." 



If you liked "HOW I CARRIED THE MES- 
SAGE TO GARCIA," tell your friends about it 
or better still, send them a copy. We will mail 
one to your friends on the receipt of your order. 

SINGLE COPIES ,.^ ^ . . 25 Cts. 

FIVE COPIES ,....'....$1.00 

For prices on Larger Quantities write 

Walter D. Harney, Publisher 

Hewes Building, 

San Francisco, XJalifornia 




INITIATIVE 



^^^^HR world bestows its big prizes, both 
M J in money and honors, for but one thing. 
^^ii-^ ^ And that is Initiative, fl What is 
Initiative? ^ I'll tell you: It is doing 
the right thing without being told, fl But 
next to doing the thing without being told is 
to do it when you are told once. That is to 
say, carry the Message to Garcia; those who 
can c^rry a message get high honors, btit their 
pay is not always in proportion. Next, there 
are those who never do a thing until they are 
told twice ; such get^o honors and small pay. 
^ Next, there are those who do the right 
thing only when necessity kicks them from 
behind, and these get indifference instead of 
honors, and a pittance for pay. This kind 
spends most of its time polishing a bench with 
a hard-luck story. ^ Then, still lower down 
in the scale than this, we have the fellow who 
will not do the right thing even when some 
one goes along to show him how and stays to 
see that he does it; he is always out of a job, 
and receives the contempt he deserves, unless 
he happens to have a rich Pa^ in which case 
Destiny patiently awaits around the comer 
with a stuffed club, fl To which class do you 
belong?— ELBERT HUBBARD. 



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